Over Caffeinated Documentation
Last week I spent a couple of days working on creating a deliverable document for a client. Specifically it was for a Desktop Deployment Planning Session that we performed at a client. Over time I have learned that I work more efficiently in certain environments. Home…we don’t currently have a good workable office environment, so there are generally too many distractions…TV, kids, etc. Office…sometimes…but again there are distractions…generally I’m a social person, so I end up getting into conversations that suck time out of the day. And realistically…if I’m working on documentation or training, I can save the commute time and work from somewhere else.
Generally I have found that coffee shops work well for me. I don’t know anyone there, so I’m not going to get into conversations. And once I put on some instrumental music, I’m not going to hear any of the other noise in the place that would distract me. (Favorites for work music: the Gladiator soundtrack and “Acoustic Sketches” from Phil Keaggy. If I’m programming/scripting, I’ll typically go for something more high energy even though it’s not acoustic…”Bloom” from Audio Adrenaline. Although some old R.E.M. or SonicFlood works well also.)
So last week I’m in Dunn Bros Coffee working on the doc. First thing each morning I would buy a small dark roast coffee. Free refills all day. Every time I started to fade and lose focus on the doc, I’d go for a refill. By end of day Friday I was way way over-caffeinated. If you’ve seen the movie “Over the Hedge”…I was Hammy. The following day I was still a little sick. The combination of too much caffeine and being a bit dehydrated was really not good.
But in the end…the doc was finished (approx 20 pages), and it was really good. I was very pleased with how it turned out. Still needs a few more points about Business Value related to my recommendations for the client, but that shouldn’t take long.
Leather Jacket – Good Deal
This post falls under the category of most people won’t care, but I’m going to ramble about it anyway.
Since moving to Minneapolis I have stocked up on winter clothes. I bought the heavy duty winter jacket a while ago, but I really wanted a nicer looking jacket to wear to work. One that looked more professional going into a client location. Last week I finally got it.
I’ve been watching a leather jacket at Kohl’s since November. Back then it was being sold for $295. If you know me, you know that I’m too cheap to spend that much on a jacket. So I continued to watch it. I’ve watched it go down in price multiple times, and last week finally bought it. It was 70% off…and I had a 15% coupon to tack onto that. Final price: $75. I’m probably just as happy about the deal I got as I am with the jacket!
Now here is the trick. While the jacket is insulated…it isn’t going to hack the depths of a Minnesota winter. It’s fine down to around +5F. Any colder than that and I will probably still wear my Columbia jacket…but then…when it’s below zero practically everyone is wearing coats like that.
Blog Stats
One aspect of blogging that has been a bit addictive to me is blog stats. WordPress.com (where this blog is hosted) gives really good stats. Aside from the hit totals that you would expect, it also gives you top posts, top referrers, search engine terms, click throughs as well as incoming links. So, over the last five months I’ve been watching the monthly hit rate climb and approach 5000 page views. It came close in October, November and December, but didn’t quite make it…Thanksgiving week and Christmas week had lower than average hit totals. January finally hit the mark. It’s amazing to me that my little blog is getting that much traffic.
Taxes
A good friend of mine posted this on his blog back in October. I just saw it tonight and enjoyed it. With our messed up tax system here in the US, what would it be like if ten friends paid their bar tab the way that we pay taxes?
http://blogs.kranich.org/karl/2008/10/30/taxes/
FairTax anyone?
Greatest Hits
Over time I have developed a few posts that I really liked for one reason or another…but they rarely got hits after they aged off of the front page. I’ve been considering creating a “My Favorite Posts” type page…sort of a “Greatest Hits” of this blog. I finally did it tonight…My Favorite Ramblings. Yeah, it’s probably a bit self-centered…but then again…aren’t blogs by their very nature typically self-centered?
Gas Prices – the “1” watch
Over the last few weeks, gas prices have been dropping like a rock. I’m paying a full dollar/gallon less now than I paid about 3 1/2 weeks ago. All of the stations in the little town I live in are currently sitting at $2.19, and they seem to drop the price a little more every few days. So…what I’m looking for now…is for the 2 to go away. I’m looking for the first gas station to drop below $2/gallon.
Interestingly, in talking to friends from around the country…none of them are even close to this price. Most are at least 30 cents/gallon higher
New Blog Theme
For those of you who are regular visitors to my blog, you will notice that it has a different look. I chose a different theme and modified the widgets in the sidebars. Also changed the Suicide Resources page from a separate page to a post. Generally did some visual housecleaning.
Let me know what you think about the changes. I’m interested to hear.
That Logic Doesn’t Work
On my flight to Bristol yesterday, I’m checking in at the airport. My bag is slightly overweight…52.5 pounds. I looked at the guy and asked if I could have a little grace or if I needed to take something out. He told me, “with the price of fuel, our managers are really cracking down, so you need to take some things out.”
I didn’t mind so I took 2.5 pounds out, and put them in my laptop bag. About that time it struck me…if fuel cost is the reasoning, what difference does it make if that 2.5 pounds is in my checked bag or my carryon?
I know that guy is just doing his job, and I didn’t say anything. But the logic that his manager is using is simply a bit faulty.
Now THAT’s a Christmas Tree!
Here is a pic I snapped of Julie standing next to the Christmas tree in her parents’ house. She is 4′ 11″. The tree is approximately 17 feet tall. The guys at the tree farm they got it said it was the biggest tree on the farm. BTW…I did no trick photography to make the tree look bigger. I held the camera level at standing height…what you see is an accurate representation.
Fake cashiers check scam
I’m currently trying to sell our minivan on cars.com. On Saturday, I got a phone call from a potential buyer. It was a phone call through one of the services for the deaf…so I’m talking to an operator who is reading to me what the other person is typing and then typing what I say in response. The caller made an offer that sounded good, then e-mailed me with details for closing the sale. However through the entire call, I just had feeling that this was a scam. Why would a person in Wisconsin want to buy an eight year old van in Florida that is listed as “fair” condition? That just doesn’t make sense.
As soon as I got the email, I knew that I was right. It was a fake cashiers check scam. Basic gist was that he was “offering” to send me a cashiers check for more than the purchase amount and have me wire the balance to him. Sorry dude…I may have been born at night…but it wasn’t last night. What made it even funnier was the name that the scammer used. Shawn Combs. Dude! P Diddy wants to buy my eight year old minivan! Yeah…right.
So…my first inclination is to send back a nasty email. Then I thought for a second. Naw…I don’t want to send an e-mail that he will just delete. If possible, I want to screw his world. I called the Secret Service instead. Continue reading
Locked Antlers
I was having a hunting conversation with a co-worker and was showing him the pictures below. My dad found these when I was about three years old. These two very mature bucks had been fighting and got their antlers locked together, and because they couldn’t get their antlers separated, they ended up dying or killing each other. They were found on private property in Mississippi back in November 1974. Somewhere out there is a picture of a very small verbal processor sitting in the center of the antlers.
Just a note: the antlers were locked together hard. Before they were mounted, my dad and someone else tried unsuccessfully to pull them apart. Another note is that both of these deer were large enough to make the Boone and Crockett record book. Clicking on either picture will take you to the higher res version on my Flickr site.
Photography Spurts
One of my hobbies is photography. It typically goes in spurts. I’ll go for a long time without taking any pictures…then will go a couple of months and take a ton. This summer was a spurt. In a six week period I took almost 850 pictures on my digital camera. No way that I could have ever afforded my photography with a film camera!
I’ve started a Flickr site and uploaded some of my favorites. Most are from that spurt this summer. Most have not been retouched from what came off of the camera other than cropping. A couple have been retouched a bit. I’m no expert…I just did what looked the best to me with what I had. I’ve posted a bunch of them on my photography page. The Flickr site has better quality images, although you won’t see the difference on your computer screen.
As for what I use for editing pictures. I really like the power of Paint.Net. It’s really powerful…and free! I also use Microsoft Office Picture Manager that is part of Office 2007. I also use Windows Photo Gallery that is part of Windows Vista. I typically use Photo Gallery more for managing photos than editing. I’m probably 50/50 on which of the first two I use…depends on what I’m trying to do. Basic cropping and retouching probably gets Picture Manager. It’s just really simple to use. More advanced stuff gets Paint.Net.
Immigration
On Tuesday of this week an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy was struck by a hit and run driver. He died from those injuries last night. His name was Michael Callin. He was 26 years old. He was the brother-in-law of one of my friends.
The early indications are that this driver intentionally swerved to hit the officer. The driver, Allan Barahona, has a rap sheet a mile long. Other passengers in the car told authorities that he intentionally hit the officer…because he didn’t want to be arrested.
What does this have to do with immigration? According to the news this morning, Barahona is an illegal alien. He is in this country illegaly. Aside from violating the laws of this country by simply being here illegally, he has also continued to prove that he cares nothing for the laws of this country evidenced by his rap sheet.
WHY IS HE STILL IN THIS COUNTRY????????? This kind of junk infuriates me. We have laws for this. Why are they not being enforced? He is an illegal alien. DEPORT HIM!!! If he is deported…he doesn’t have the opportunity to violate the other laws…or kill our deputies.
My quick and dirty solution:
1. Harden the borders…ASAP. Make is so that as much as we are able…you don’t get into this country unless you are supposed to get in.
2. Deport all illegal aliens. No discussion, no second chances. If you are here illegally…you are gone. Period.
3. Streamline the process for legal immigration. Make it a desirable process.
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The Realm of the Verbal Processor 